Rage Verse: Midas V
by Tigerdust
Summary: While reading the paper in the penthouse, Rage, Zephyr, and Disco discover a reason to be at an outdoor opera event. Disco has a costume change, Zephyr swings down a rope, and Rage uses his superpower.


Zephyr whistled a jaunty tune as he entered the communal kitchen. The sun was out amongst the clouds and reflected off of the golden walnut, with real and not laminate wood, cabinetry. He opened the latch and grabbed his beige coffee cup with golden Greek zags that his archaeologist boyfriend had gotten for him on a dig.

Blinking, Zephyr narrowed his gaze and looked around the room. Setting down his cup, he walked to the window and opened it.

"Coffee?"

Disco smiled from the ledge. He was hanging backward off the ledge with his feet anchoring him. "And I brought your paper up."

Zephyr snorted. "Did you scare that nice guy at the stand?"

Disco batted his eyelashes. "You are not giving Teddy enough credit."

"Eh. He's thirty seven, he's ancient in gay years. Almost no trade value."

Zephyr turned as Rage strutted in, pouring coffee almost on the counter. "You are horrible, Rage. That's just not true."

Rage sighed as he looked at Disco at the table, reading his paper. Rage put his hand on his hip before snatching the front section out of the paper. "Kind of like Disco being able to scare anyone."

Disco spoke from behind the sections he had been able to salvage. "I'm plenty scary, thank you!"

"I know. I've heard you sing." Rage chuckled.

Zephyr quirked his brow as Disco ignored Rage and reached for the coffee cup in front of him. "Gonna ignore that since you took most of your paper back."

Ben yawned as he entered through the sliding door. "Morning, all. Whats going on in the world today?"

Zephyr smirked as his lover came over and cradled him, grabbing his cup so that he could take a drag of coffee. "There is coffee. All is still well."

"Ah yes. The other nectar of the gods."

"Everclear?" JT entered with a stretch and yawn of his own.

Zephyr rolled his eyes, cushioning himself in Ben, who had slid the current events section out from the growing pile that Rage was sifting through. "Not quite. More morning, less am."

Disco sighed. "Ah, to be young again."

Ben reached out with a free arm and squeezed Disco on the shoulder. "Careful. Bit of your brother slipped out there."

Disco swatted away Ben's hand playfully. "He's not such a bad bloke. Oh! Gotta fly...see you guys later tonight."

Ben tried to interject, but Disco was already at the window, bowing with a silly flourish. "Adieu, adieu...parting is such sweet sorrow!"

Rage shook his head as JT slid into the free seat around the table, elbow planted on the table and his head cupped on his hand. "He's really getting weird with those exits."

Rage murmured in agreement. "Keep telling him, he can't top the star of the series."

Ben reached past Zephyr to grab the page that Disco had dropped on the top of the pile. "Actually, I don't think it was an exit as much as a hint."

JT crooked a brow. "He's gonna get himself tailored?"

Ben shook his head. "Not that....this one."

JT's eyes lit up. "You are not serious! He's really coming to gayopolis? We're not even on his tour!"

Rage picked a bit of lint off of his lycra cuff. "Whats so exciting about an outdoor picnic with music? We do that at Labor Day and might I remind you how I feel about sitting in the grass.."

Zephyr rolled his eyes at Rage. "Can't you pretend to be excited for them just for this once?"

"No."

Pan camera to several hours later, backstage. A burly Russian security guard with a green plastic clipboard checks names off the sheet.

"Can you check again, please? Surely he would want to see us while he's in town."

Rage folded his arms as the Russian merely shook his head. "What is the point of being the protector of the city if you're not even on the list?"

"Free lunches at City Hall?" Zephyr shot back.

Rage gave him a dirty look. "You know what I mean! How did you get JT to talk me into this anyways?"

Zephyr shrugged he. "He just did like he always does..."

Rage nodded as he finished Zephyr's thought, "batted his eyelashes and swivels his ass. Yeah, I get that. Still doesn't explain why I'm back here."

"Maybe you're not as cool as you thought?"

Zephyr looked up towards the darkening twilight. "Careful Disco. No point in crushing his ego anymore. Otherwise they'll have to be an orgy in gayopolis. And we can't have that since I've got a husband now."

"Eh, you never let us have any fun. Coming in for a landing!"

Rage appraised Disco's new costume. "What do you call that thing?"

Disco shot a look at Rage at the top of his mask. "My new night suit. What? Zeph's in a custom tux and you're wearing a silk scarf. Why can't I have an evening outfit?"

Rage crossed his arms. "The word over the top comes to mind. Its not even the same color! You're screwing up our dynamic here."

Disco put his hands on his hips. "Where is it written we're always supposed to be the same color? This guy did tailoring for Hal and Oliver and I'll have you know that I look smashing in green with this golden faux-stole cape."

Zephyr raised a point of order. "I thought you only wore silver and blue since you look better with the silver eyeshadow and your brother does the warm colors?"

Disco nodded. "Normally, yes. But this is not my fighting outfit. I'm even at half chain mail in this thing."

Zephyr smiled sweetly in his friend's direction. "You are so old-school."

"Thanks."

Rage coughed, folding his arms. "Not to interrupt you ladies, but we should make a decision. I personally don't give a flying flip about getting backstage, but we're gonna miss the show if we don't get back out there in a couple of seconds to JT and Ben."

Disco shook his head in response. "I'm surprised at you, Rage. Not your type?"

With that, the stole-clad Disco sauntered over to the burly bodyguard with the clipboard and batted his lashes with abandon. "Now sir, why don't you check that clipboard again? My friends are quite famous around these parts and they're heroes, no threat at all to the man you're protecting."

"Yeah? Says who?" The guard grunted in response, eyes not moving from Disco.

"You don't trust me?" Disco pulled the guard down close to his ear by the lapel of his tux. Rage took the opportunity to flash the bodyguard with the powers of his mind, turning him temporarily gay. Disco was happy enough to provide the distraction for them.

Walking through the maze of dressing rooms and backstage prop houses, Zephyr and Rage felt a strange uneasiness in their solitude. By the time they reached the star's dressing room amongst the runners of wood and nail, they realized that he was already onstage. In the distance, his violin could already be heard.

"We just missed him." Zephyr's voice was disheartened. He knew Ben liked the guy and he was happy enough to use his prestige to get some sort of autograph.

Rage looked up at the ceiling as they exited the room, violin music settling down from the stage they were below. "We're too late."

Zephyr shrugged. "Well, there's no point in not trying to get stage side to hear him play."

Walking through the maze of hallway, they came to a fork in the road. Zephyr pointed to the left. "Guess I'll see you in a few minutes then."

Rage shrugged and continued walking in the same direction. He came up a flight of stairs, hot stage lights blinding him temporarily. Covering his hand over most of his eyes, his vision cleared as he gritted his teeth. He could see the shadow of a man in a long, tailored jacket with silver embroidering and a swath of dark hair.

The violin stopped at the end of its concerto, but there was no polite clapping. Stepping swiftly onto the stage, Rage could see why. Everyone in the audience was frozen in a layer of solid gold, the orchestra empty and pilfering the pockets of the patrons.

"Ah, a stow away!"

Rage gritted his teeth, knowing that JT and Ben were both frozen solid right then. "Who are you?"

Bowing with a flourish, the tailored man addressed Rage. "My name is Midas V. International concerto star and possessor of golden magicks." Putting his violin to his chin, Rage tried to leap to get to the man before he could begin to play again.

"I don't think so." Zephyr's voice rose in an echo throughout the shell shape. He cascaded down to the stage level via a swinging rope left by a golden stage hand. Kicking Midas in the chin as well as throwing the violin to a skidding halt at the end of the stage, Zephyr landed on the opposite side of the stage as Rage.

"Two of you? You must have sneaked in the back. Good help is so hard to find." With a scowl across his brow, Midas pointed in the pair's direction. "Forte, Allegro...get those men for hurting my Stradivarian jaw!"

Rage chuckled as he brought his fingers into two fists. "The only thing about your brutes is that they're not allergic to your notes. Bet they're allergic to punches though."

Midas shook his head. "Fools and philistines, all."

Forte came out of the crowd with a sharp, diamond tipped violin bow, Allegro near behind. They climbed up onto the stage and Zephyr felt a solid platinum music note shuriken buzz just past his ear.

Zephyr ducked low, somersaulting until he could land a good spin kick on Allegro's knee and disable his ability to fire. "No thanks. I've already had a hair cut this week."

Rage hissed when Forte swung his sharp bow swiftly in his direction, a wide swath of air slashing around Rage as he spun back to avoid the blow. He hissed in return, facing Forte with a scowl. "That was my favorite crème scarf. Bad idea. You just won two tickets to getting your ass handed to you."

Rage ripped lose with his telepathic power, sending Forte back unto Midas. "Turn these people right or you'll be playing a violin with your lower half too."

Midas backed up but Allegro's bruised and beaten form behind him stopped Midas from getting far. "You'd never understand. I don't harm them. I just rob them. They'll be back in a few hours."

Zephyr shook his head as he stepped out of the way of Forte's diamond tipped swing. "No, trust me. You harm them. And the ones they love."

"But you cannot destroy me. They love me."

Rage nodded, Forte striking and missing Midas, who fell over the edge of the stage and tumbled right on top of his broken violin. Midas howled in pain.

Zephyr's head peaked down as Midas tried to unfurl himself from the ground but was obviously injured. "We'll see, Midas V. But its doubtful."


End file.
